Seems niche, but this solution is also unobtrusive, so I like that. I have a lot of VPNs searching through them would be quite useful.

Having the search bar on the bottom is a bit weird as when you filter the results will be at the top, meaning the user's focus is split all over the place.

Better just place it at the top above the the connections list, then?

In D18607#402168, @vpilo wrote:

Better just place it at the top above the the connections list, then?

I think that would make sense.

In such a limited space, I think it's fine for the search field to only appear if the list would otherwise be scrollable.

Wouldn't be a small search bar placed next to the aiplane mode enough? That way it will not need additional vertical space. Hiding it when there is only a small amount of connections is a good idea.

PS: Please add me as a reviewer next time for plasma-nm changes.

In D18607#402261, @jgrulich wrote:

Wouldn't be a small search bar placed next to the aiplane mode enough? That way it will not need additional vertical space. Hiding it when there is only a small amount of connections is a good idea.

Isn't there way too little space for it inside of the toolbar?

PS: Please add me as a reviewer next time for plasma-nm changes.

Sure. Is this kind of info written anywhere?

In D18607#402360, @vpilo wrote:

In D18607#402261, @jgrulich wrote:

Wouldn't be a small search bar placed next to the aiplane mode enough? That way it will not need additional vertical space. Hiding it when there is only a small amount of connections is a good idea.

Isn't there way too little space for it inside of the toolbar?

Hmm, it probably is, it's not in my case but that depends on screen size and resolution. I wouldn't definitely put it at the bottom. To be honest, I wouldn't add this at all, because the applet is really small. What I would prefer is to add some sort of sorting based on connection priority, that way you can have relevant connections at the top and you will not need to search for them.

It would need at least 150-200 px, and that's exactly how much I have in that screenshot. In my panel nm applet, there's just a tiny bit more space (~50px). How could I visually separate it from the other buttons around it?

PS: Please add me as a reviewer next time for plasma-nm changes.

Sure. Is this kind of info written anywhere?

I guess it's not, maybe this can be configured in Phabricator somehow, no idea, I just don't want to miss any plasma-nm review as its maintainer.

In D18607#402363, @jgrulich wrote:

I guess it's not, maybe this can be configured in Phabricator somehow, no idea, I just don't want to miss any plasma-nm review as its maintainer.

This is something that Phabricator can do automatically, if it's configured. I've asked Sysadmin to do so: {T10420}

Putting the search bar in the toolbar on top is an interesting idea. There's definitely room on mine. However it does start to feel a bit cramped. +1 for the idea of a search field though.

In D18607#402415, @ngraham wrote:

In D18607#402363, @jgrulich wrote:

I guess it's not, maybe this can be configured in Phabricator somehow, no idea, I just don't want to miss any plasma-nm review as its maintainer.

This is something that Phabricator can do automatically, if it's configured. I've asked Sysadmin to do so: {T10420}

Great!! Thank you for that.

Putting the search bar in the toolbar on top is an interesting idea. There's definitely room on mine. However it does start to feel a bit cramped. +1 for the idea of a search field though.

My opinion is: I don't want the search bar to take any additional vertical space by default, not even when there is many connections, because I don't need usually to scroll down to find the connection I need. On the other hand I get it might be useful for someone else. What about showing the search bar once users start typing?

Putting the search bar in the toolbar on top is an interesting idea. There's definitely room on mine. However it does start to feel a bit cramped. +1 for the idea of a search field though.

Alternatively we can show a small input box just saying "Search ..." and clicking into it to start typing it would hide all the switches in the toolbar (wifi, wwan, airplane) and expand across the whole toolbar?

In D18607#402435, @jgrulich wrote:

Alternatively we can show a small input box just saying "Search ..." and clicking into it to start typing it would hide all the switches in the toolbar (wifi, wwan, airplane) and expand across the whole toolbar?

That's not a bad idea! And then when the user clicks on the "clear text" on the right side of the search field, it would collapse to its prior size.

Here's my latest change, not submitted yet.

The differences are that I moved the bar to the top, made the label into a placeholder text, and added a bit of margin on the textfield sides.

In D18607#402431, @jgrulich wrote:

Putting the search bar in the toolbar on top is an interesting idea. There's definitely room on mine. However it does start to feel a bit cramped. +1 for the idea of a search field though.

My opinion is: I don't want the search bar to take any additional vertical space by default, not even when there is many connections, because I don't need usually to scroll down to find the connection I need. On the other hand I get it might be useful for someone else. What about showing the search bar once users start typing?

If you usually don't need to scroll down to find a connection you need, then you won't see the search bar.

As you can see:

• When the list of connections is short:
  • If the user starts typing, then it shows automatically.
  • When the field is emptied, then it hides.
• When the list of connections is long enough to already need a scrollbar:
  • The field is always shown, and highlighted.
  • You just lose one entry of vertical space that you have to scroll through anyway.

In D18607#402444, @ngraham wrote:

In D18607#402435, @jgrulich wrote:

Alternatively we can show a small input box just saying "Search ..." and clicking into it to start typing it would hide all the switches in the toolbar (wifi, wwan, airplane) and expand across the whole toolbar?

That's not a bad idea! And then when the user clicks on the "clear text" on the right side of the search field, it would collapse to its prior size.

I think my approach is less visually obtrusive, and you can still use everything else in the widget while the search field is active.

BTW regardless of where we put the search field, its placeholder text should just be Search....

With this approach I will basically see it all the time, you can have just one connection hidden and the search bar will pop up, I don't want that and in my opinion it doesn't look good. Either should be placed in the toolbar or visible only when you start typing.

In D18607#402549, @jgrulich wrote:

only when you start typing.

Not a great idea since there's no way to know you can search if you start typing; it would be an invisible UI and nobody would ever find it. Even in GNOME where they have this paradigm everywhere, people hate it because it's not discoverable when you want it, and annoying when you accidentally activate it.

I liked your idea of putting a stub in the toolbar that expands to the full width when clicked in.

Besides, it doesn't seem to work as it should:

1. It removed the button in the top right corner which opens the KCM
2. When I restart plasmashell, the search bar is visible even when I have only 4 connections (no scrollbar), typing some text and clearing it makes it disappear correctly

Can you look into placing the search bar into the toolbar? Perhaps making it visible also only when there are many connections and when it makes sense to search for them. I tried to place it there and it looks ugly when you use PlasmaComponents.TextField, maybe just some text field without frame and borders should be used.

+1, I actually like it now with the search button. I will try it properly later and go through your code.

Does the hug allow for just a search button and a non-always visible search field?

In D18607#402657, @abetts wrote:

Does the hug allow for just a search button and a non-always visible search field?

Yep, I want to have it visible only when a user opens it manually, it shouldn't be visible by default when the list of connections is long and there is a scrollbar visible.